Without a feeling of worthiness, human society and communication naturally become vehicles of manipulation and deception, and we use every activity to shore ourselves up or to outdo someone else. Through this false sense of power, life becomes a perpetual unfolding of doubt, which only confirms the inadequacies we perceive and elicits a feeling of alienation.

My father called it “the setting sun.” This term describes a time when humanity’s sense of dignity and purpose is diminishing, like sunlight at the end of the day. What is setting is our ability to recognize our goodness.

If humanity is to survive – and not only that, to flourish—we must be brave enough to find our wisdom and let it shine.

We uncover it by beginning to examine our assumptions. We may never before have considered human nature, but in order to move forward as a global community, it is vital that we do it now. Is it really our nature to be fearful and aggressive, or could it be that we are actually gentle and fearless at heart?

Underneath the stress and anxiety, is it possible there is peace?

If our self-reflection turns up an inkling of that, we can draw power from it, daring to shift our destiny. In this way, the Shambhala principle is a socially transformative process through which confusion about human nature becomes confidence in human worthiness.

About Sakyong Mipham

The Sakyong,literally translated as “earth protector,” is a dharma king and lineage holder of the Shambhala lineage, guiding thousands of students around the world in the path of meditation. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

588548One Responsehttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.elephantjournal.com%2F2013%2F10%2Fthe-power-of-self-worth-sakyong-mipham%2FThe+Power+of+Self-Worth.+%7E+Sakyong+Mipham2013-10-29+01%3A38%3A21Sakyong+Miphamhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.elephantjournal.com%2F%3Fp%3D588548 to “The Power of Self-Worth. ~ Sakyong Mipham”

Humans, free of distress, would automatically care deeply about the universe around them and seek to work to build a just society, clean up the environment, and pursue all other desirable goals. Here is a commitment I use to contradiction my feeling of unworthiness. " From now on I will inspire, lead,and organize all people to eliminate every form of humans' harming humans. This will mean_____________. I fill in the blank and say the first thing that comes to mind and continue to repeat the phrase over and over. Each time I sense my true nature and humanness. This is one thing that really helps me re-claim my goodness and self-worth. I am noticing my life is changing as I keep making this decision, over and over again.